Once A Kid Of The Cul-de-Sac, Always A Kid Of The Cul-de-Sac
by SuperJonnyBoy
Summary: Kevin Divine has always been the tough guy but could it be that the bad boy is letting his guard down and getting soft for (yaoi) love. Danny Winters, small town kid with big dreams, just had his world turned upside down and is now returning to the Cul-de-Sac. He thinks that its the worst thing in the world but the Cul-de-Sac holds many surprises like opportunity, friendship, love!


_This story is centered on my OC (Danny) and his real life and his love life._

_If you are not into yaoi then this story isn't for you._

_This is a revised version of my previous story. The first one was a test run._

_Hope you enjoy! Much Love! :)_

Peach Creek was one of the most beautiful cities in Colorado, no one could deny that. Even 16 year old Danny, who absolutely despised having to be in this place. People loved the aroma of summer flowers and sight of nature coinciding with the fast paced lives of the suburban community. Danny didn't want to be in Peach Creek but his parents were stuck by tragedy just a few short weeks ago forcing him to move in with his Great Aunt Wootie.

Danny had been to his aunt's house as a child but he had changed since then. Wootie used to pull Danny's leg for his signature long dark "mop hair" as she called it and though it was still a dark chocolate brown it was no longer "moppy" by any standard. Cut into a short Mohawk, just long enough to be styled, it was a drastic change from what he had previously worn atop his head.

As Danny stepped out of his sister's car she removed herself from the driver seat to give her brother a final hug before departing on her journey to the West Coast. She was 19, old enough to make her own decisions and for a year she had already been signing a couple small record deals in Maine where they had previously lived. None of those deals really did anything for her career and she saw this tragedy as a time to start a new in California.

Danny wrapped his arms around his older yet shorter sister and felt her chest quiver as she let out a soundless sob.

"I love you Dan."

"Love you too, Lili!" He said holding back tears. He was usually a big baby but when he saw how bad letting him go after such an incident hurt his older sister, who was usually hard as a rock - almost unbreakable at times, he knew it was his time to be strong.

"Don't give Auntie to much trouble remember she has been very helpful since all this happened." Lili pulled back from her brother with small tears running down her cheeks.

She gently grabbed the sides of his face and pulled his head down so she could plant a kiss on his forehead and slowly releasing she spoke softly.

"Mom and Dad would be so proud of you. I know th-"

Danny tried to interrupt her "Lili don't ge-"

"Shh!" she said finishing what she was previously saying "I wasn't the best kid Danny. I was really a little shit but you. You were their dream child. You were their saving grace." With those words coming from his sisters mouth Danny allowed tears to roll down his face. No longer could he be strong with his sister opening up like she was. "You had straight A's, you were athletic, you were charismatic and most importantly, you weren't afraid of who you were. You stood up for yourself and what you believed even when it wasn't the easiest thing to do and Mom and Dad were so proud to call you their son, _the boy who went against the grain_."

She took a breath smiling at Danny who was at this point balling like a baby.

"Danny. If what happened changes you or if this place changes you, just remember one thing. Always… Always, be proud of who you are. That is what mom and dad would want." She said finishing her motivational speech. Lili's crying subsided but Danny's had gotten progressively louder as his sister spoke.

Shortly thereafter, Auntie Wootie was outside with them. "Hey kids." She said apologetically with her sweet voice. She had realized that both of them were crying and wanted to be there to comfort them. Lili and Danny both had been told by their mother all their lives that Auntie Wootie had a heart three times the size of normal person.

"Hi Auntie." Lili said giving her an extra-long hug. Auntie Wootie was their mother's aunt and had been a big part of their lives up even after, she moved to Peach Creek. Both Lili and Danny would come to Peach Creek, spending weeks at Aunties house in the summers and making tons of new friends in the Cul-de-Sac but once Lili entered High School the visits pretty much ended. Danny had taken two more trips in 7th grade to Peach Creek but other than that life just got too busy to travel but even though Wootie had not seen them for years, she still called and talk to the kids.

Many updates from mom and a big surprise visit in Maine just one year ago.

Danny and Lili both stood catching up with Wootie. Giving her the details of the past couple weeks since the funeral. Wootie had come up for the ceremony but left shortly after making plans to have Danny stay with her. Danny was extremely reluctant to stay in Peach Creek but after a few talks about finance and a talk about Kori's dance studio being part of Danny's future he was convinced just enough to stay with Auntie Wootie for the school year.

Lili walked to the trunk of her car as Danny and his aunt continued to talk about his academics and other random things. Lili grabbed a bag of cloths and a beg of bedding while Auntie and Danny walked over to help.

**~~X~~**

Quickly, everything was in the house and up the stairs, piled in Danny's new room and Lili was about to leave.

"I'll see you in a couple months Danny." Lili said stepping out the door. "Love you Auntie."

The door clicked behind her and Danny stood in the living room feeling as though he was empty. He had nothing anymore. He lost his dance career, his old friends in Maine. He lost all his respect in the community as the student council president and predicted valedictorian. The most important thing he had lost in all of this though was his parents and on top of losing his parents, he lost his sister. He was so lost that he didn't even know who he was anymore. Danny didn't know what to do with himself or what to do to fix all of his problems. He just stood there, staring at the door knob waiting for something to happen, waiting for his problems to be fixed.

Auntie Wootie busted into Danny's thoughts. "Hey kid." Danny jumped out of his boundless stare and looked at Auntie startled. "Sorry to ruin your train of thought but Kori Bartonschmeer just invited us over for dinner, if you would like to go?"

Danny thought for a second trying to get a grasp on his thoughts. "Sure, that sounds wonderful Auntie." He finally replied.

**~~X~~**

"Danny!" Kori said answering the door and wrapping her arms tightly around the brown hair boy.

"Hi. How are you Madame Bartonschmeer?" He said hugging her back.

"Call me Kori, we're not in a ballet," she said chuckling "and I'm doing fine, thank you Danny. Please come in."

Stepping into the Bartonschmeer's living room Danny didn't notice much change. The couch was new and the TV was in a new area but other than that nothing was different it made him very comfortable to know the space he was in.

As he walked into the Bartonschmeer's kitchen, small hands covered his eyes from behind and a familiar voice asked "Guess who?"

"Nazz!" Danny exclaimed happily.

Turning around she wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. He grabbed underneath her arms and lifted her up to her tippy toes. It was a long hug and Danny was so excited to see his best childhood friend.

Kori broke up the moment so that everyone could sit down and start eating or else the embrace would have lasted forever.

Before dinner, everyone was standing around the table and the Bartonschmeer's grabbed hands. Auntie Wootie followed and Danny was forced to join. He didn't believe in organized religion. Not to say that he didn't believe in God but he believe that organized religion was corrupt and hurt people more than it helped.

Mr. Bartonschmeer began "Dear Lord Almighty, we thank you for this wonderful life that you have given us and we are thankful for every gift you have blessed us with. We appreciate you plans but we don't always understand your work Lord and it is hard to handle for those of us who are still on your gracious earth. We don't know why you took the lives of two beautiful, compassionate, and loving friends, parents, and soul mates, but I do know that they are now in a better place, with you Lord. Please allow us to get through this time of so much grieving and allow us to move on with their memory in our hearts. In Jesus name we pray, amen." He finished the prayer and looking around the room everyone's cheeks were covered in tears. It was a touching moment to have with the Bartonschmeer's and even Danny said _amen_.

That family was incredibly close with both of Danny's parents. The fathers of both families grew up together and the wives met in college. Being best friends through all those years, the death of Danny's mother and father was hard on the Bartonschmeer family as well.

During dinner, Kori asked Danny talked about the dance companies that were scouting him and offering him jobs. There were a couple but only a few were big name stand outs. He explained his plans to her as they ate.

"I planned on taking a minor weekend job while I finished high school at Boulder Point. After that, I was going to attend NYU and do my first semester abroad in France studying École Française. The next semester I would have studied in Russia on Vaganova and then for my second year I would return to the states and learn all the techniques of Cecchetti from the teachers at NYU. I would have taken on my work studies with dancers in the area. After college I was hoping to try out for So You Think You Can Dance or join the American Ballet Theater. I didn't really plan ahead that far." Danny chuckled finishing his explanation.

Kori, Danny, and Nazz went on for quite some time about Danny's dance future. Then Kori removed herself from the room. Everyone had just finished eating and was just having some plain talk about politics or weather. Kori re-entered the room and whispered into Nazz's ear. Nazz's face lit up and she stood from the table pulling on Danny's arm.

"So, I have a surprise for you." Nazz said with a huge grin. "Thanks Mom."

"No surprises." Danny sighed.

"Too bad." She said sticking her tongue out. "Come on."

Quickly, Nazz yanked Danny's arm and pulled him out the door and down the concrete walk way in the dark. Danny couldn't believe that it was already dark outside. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked at the time.

"Is it really 8 already?" Danny asked rhetorically.

Nazz walked him across the Cul-de-Sac and toward Eddy's house. As they reach his yard they walked a path around to the back and arrived at a small camp fire surrounded by familiar faces, and warming and welcoming smiles.


End file.
